Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Musings: Sacrificial Killing

An email arrived in my inbox today,
advertising an event that seems great on first glance, but has so much ugliness festering beneath the surface:

It's a pitch for a June no-kill
conference, with the stated goal of turning the Kauai Humane Society
into a no-kill shelter.

It comes on the heels of a relentlessly
vicious social media attack on KHS Director Penny Cistaro, waged in
large part by the Kauai Community Cat
Project — a group that wants to save all the feral cats on the
island by putting them into managed colonies and the shadowy Kauai Coalition for Animals.

So what has Penny done to incur all
this hate and wrath? Euthanizing animals that nobody wants — not
even the animal lovers.

Minutes after I skimmed the no-kill
conference email, I happened upon a news story from Taiwan, about a
shelter veterinarian who killed herself after on-line haters attacked
her following a TV appearance where she talked about her job.

On the TV program, she had begged people to
adopt dogs, not buy them, because the shelters were packed with
unwanted canines. She told of crying herself to sleep, and feeling
guilty about putting dogs down. But she said they had no choice,
because they had no more room. Her honesty, good intentions and
appeal for public support counted for nothing with the haters,Instead, they brutalized her in comments, calling her “female butcher” and “beautiful executioner.”

It's not unlike the attacks that have
been leveled against Penny. Google her name, and the first thing that
comes up is a website that has appropriated her personal domain name to
offer such links as “why does Penny Cistaro order employees to
euthanize puppies?”

Next up is the Facebook page of the
Kauai Coalition for Animals. Though this group is busily trying to
destroy Penny's good name, and a solid professional reputation built
on 30 years in the business, they've too cowardly to identify
themselves. But videos link them to the Kauai Community Cat
Project, which is headed by Basil Scott.

It's followed by another Facebook hit
page by a Central California no-kill group attacking her policies at a Sacramento shelter, then a change.org petition seeking her
ouster. It's not until the second page of results that we start seeing
nice things about Penny. The haters know well how to optimize search engines so that their slime rises to the top.

I went back to look at the email. It said the
conference will start with Nathan Winograd, a no-kill missionary,
presenting his film “Redemption.” It purports to be about “a
social movement as noble and just as those that have come before. But
most of all, it is a story about believing in the community and
trusting in the power of compassion.”

Oh, yeah, that sounds really good. But
ya know, I'm not so sure about the “believing in the community”
part. Especially when we've just witnessed the fanaticism and mob
mentality of the anti-GMO movement. And especially when we're seeing
the supposedly kind and caring animal lovers engaged in horrible attacks against
Penny.

Are cyber bullying, character
assassination and other despicable tactics how Winograd, Basil Scott
and their followers define "community" and "compassion?" How can
they claim to be “noble” when they're causing horrible harm to
someone who loves animals, and is tasked with the very hard job of
euthanizing those that can't find homes?Even PETA, an animal rights' group, has denounced Winograd's movement. Blaming shelter workers for euthanasia, PETA says, is akin to blaming hospitals for deadly diseases. PETA continues:

This
false “logic” lets the real culprits off the hook: people who
breed (or fail to spay or neuter) their animals and people who buy animals from pet stores or breeders instead of adopting homeless
animals from shelters. No one wants to see animals euthanized—least
of all, those who have to perform it—but denying that a crisis
exists and blaming those who have devoted their lives to ending it is
misguided and solves nothing.

PETA went on to offer several examples of how the no-kill approach to shelter management resulted in dangerous policies and practices that harmed animals. This mainland-based no-kill movement is
a repeat of what happened with the mainland-based anti-GMO movement. You get people
all fired up about an emotional cause, simplify the issues, offer an
equally simplistic solution, wreak lots of havoc and rake in some dough along the way.

And just like the anti-GMO movement,
its real objectives are hidden by the emotional appeal. In the case
of the no-kill movement, its true goals on Kauai are this: derail
efforts to control Kauai's huge population of feral cats, which are
killing endangered native birds and monk seals.

It's unrealistic to imagine that some
20,000 feral cats can be managed humanely, healthfully and
economically in colonies on little Kauai. It's pure fantasy to think they'll all find homes.

And it's downright wrong to support
movements and individuals who sanction the sort of tactics used against Penny and the veterinarian in Taiwan. On Kauai, all this stink-talk has included urging people not to take animals to the shelter. Like abandoning them elsewhere, or giving to an unsuitable home, is supposed to be a solution?

If those folks want
to start a Kauai no-kill shelter of their own, go for it. (Though PETA offers numerous examples of the downside of these feel-good shelters.)But we all
need to condemn their attempts to sacrifice native birds — and destroy
Penny and KHS — in the process.

38 comments:

Anonymous
said...

How does the no-kill group justify the 34 shearwater birds that were just killed by feral dogs? At least Ross Kagawa is happy as he's that much closer to having football back under the lights. Yes, rid Kauai of all shearwaters so that high school football can return to "Friday Night Lights".

Fuck the birds bring back Friday night football who cares about these stupid haole environmentalists

May 24, 2016 at 10:10 AM

Hmmm Joan has been someone who likes to protect birds. She also considers herself an environmentalist a yardner a beekeeper and she is also haole. So from your post i assume it means Joan. Its more likely you are a troll on crazy pay.

KHS does a great job with the resources they have. I've seen many cats and dogs being sent to the mainland because they were adopted. This is a great program because we don't have enough people here on Kauai to take in the unwanted animals. Those that advocate a no-kill policy and continue their attacks on KHS should set up a competing shelter and put their money where their mouths are. Then they will realize the futility of their position.

Those that continue to feed feral cats are adding to the problem because animals tend to reproduce more when food is readily available. Then the population grows exponentially. What a no-win situation. Get REAL!

By climate hysterics being clowns, do you mean the 97% of climate scientists who agree that man is influencing the climate? Or do you mean the 195 member countries of the UN, all of whom endorse the findings of the IPCC's 5th, and most dire, assessment on climate change? Or do you mean this list of 197 scientific agencies (select few below), all of whom hold the position that climate change is caused by humans?

Academia Brasiliera de Ciências (Bazil)Royal Society of CanadaChinese Academy of SciencesAcademié des Sciences (France)Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina (Germany)Indian National Science AcademyAccademia dei Lincei (Italy)Science Council of JapanRussian Academy of SciencesRoyal Society (United Kingdom)National Academy of Sciences (United States of America)Australian Academy of SciencesRoyal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the ArtsCaribbean Academy of SciencesIndonesian Academy of SciencesRoyal Irish AcademyAcademy of Sciences MalaysiaAcademy Council of the Royal Society of New ZealandRoyal Swedish Academy of SciencesNASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS)National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)National Academy of Sciences (NAS)State of the Canadian Cryosphere (SOCC)Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Royal Society of the United Kingdom (RS)American Geophysical Union (AGU)American Institute of Physics (AIP)National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)American Meteorological Society (AMS)Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS

So where did the 97% come from? Initially from a college paper by a fellow name Anderegg who studied 200 papers by Warmists in support of the IPCC. The one always cited for the 97%, though is John Cook:

"In 2013, a strident global warming alarmist and blogger named John Cook claimed a review he performed, with help from some of his friends, of the abstracts of peer-reviewed papers published from 1991 to 2011 revealed 97 percent of those that stated a position on man-made global warming supported his own alarmist view. His findings were published in Environmental Research Letters.

Do I need to point out again that counting abstracts is not a valid methodology? Or report again that many of the scientists whose work questions the consensus have protested that Cook et al. ignored or misrepresented their work?

No surprise, this study was quickly debunked by a paper by Legates et al. published in Science & Education. Legates et al. reviewed the same papers and found “only 41 papers – 0.3 percent of all 11,944 abstracts or 1.0 percent of the 4,014 expressing an opinion, and not 97.1 percent – had been found to endorse the standard or quantitative "

This is pure scientific fraud. I suggest you simply read the Legates paper. Legagtes is of course continually attacked, but his paper has not been. Typical of the left.

When NOAA, GISS, et al, can alter their historical records to somehow “improve” the record of the past, and Michael Mann can claim to know what the “global” average temperature was for decades of years past based on a single tree’s rings—one single tree on the entire planet can tell him what the average was, so that he can tell us, lucky lucky us—and “scientists” can conspire to lie and hide data to preserve their own interpretation of the “facts” in order to deliberately manipulate the public’s opinion, flouting the law because, of course, THEY answer to a Higher Purpose, when nearly every new paper on the subject that we read makes claims about warming!warming!warming! based on nothing but computer models—all actual satellite measurements from the real world to the contrary—and when they DO stick to thermometer readings, it’s only to questionable measurements from stations provably subject to land changes that have occurred since the initial siting of the measurement station which have compromised it’s data record, which because they’ve been compromised support the warming theory, yet jettison any readings which do not… Oh, and let’s not forget “infilling”, which is nothing but inserting numbers to support their theories, for what, nearly three quarters of the earth at least, that being the ocean surface area, to say nothing of the interiors of continents (like, oh, Australia, or Antarctica, or North and South America, or Asia, or Most of Europe, for example), for which we have no data, no records, because there ARE no stations to cover all that… I can hear Bill Murray from ‘Ghostbusters’ now: “Back off, man. I’m a Scientist.”

As clarification, the study I linked to was an analysis of six independent studies on climate change consensus.

It would probably be helpful for readers to know that you lifted your comment directly from Joseph Bast, the President and CEO of the Heartland Institute: http://news.heartland.org/editorial/2014/05/12/what-97-percent-climate-scientists-do?quicktabs_4=0

Bast is probably best known for also arguing against the scientific consensus that smoking causes lung cancer: "“A fourth lie is that even moderate smoking is deadly. Several experts have told me that smoking fewer than seven cigarettes a day does not raise a smoker's risk of lung cancer.” (http://www.webcitation.org/6PLSLSOkP)

On one side, we have the Heartland Institute and on the other we have NASA:

"Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities." -http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

Aloha to 12:33I hope that this is not some ones real address.I have dealt with the Kauai Comm. Cat Project and I applaud them for their overwhelming effort of catching and caring for feral cats and kittens.If you catch a cat they will fix it but it must be returned to the area where it was caught. Remember once a cat is caught in a cage it will not go into the trap again. I am a cat person and an animal lover but sometimes it sucks due to the over population. My cats never leave my house due to the feral cats around and the problems that come with them. But I do have a big problem with feral cats. I just caught a mother cat and later her 4 kittens. Yes they were cute, but they Kauai Comm. Cat Project people are so overwhelmed they could not help us this time. The KHS did take them and thought that they might be able to be adopted. Nobody can handle all of the cats or other animals that have been abandoned. Catching and releasing cats into a colony is not an answer as you are just putting them on someone else's property. KHS is all that is left unless someone has a lot of money and land to start a no kill shelter. Believe me, it is hard to know that an animal that was caught might get get gassed, but it is a reality.

Kauai Humane Society is a good organization. The Feral Cat group, Garden Island Paper and others did a real number on Penny. KHS saw a drop in donations.Even now the controversy on Penny continues. Animal control has some hard realities.Penny does a good job. The suggestion of dropping the Cats off at 6931 Pomaikai Street in the Wailua Homesteads is a great idea. I catch several cats each year, some dumbsh^ts drop them off near my house all of time. Give money to KHS. Not perfect, but real.And Luke, man has been influencing the planet ever since agriculture began. The unrealistic - ride a bike to a bus stop and catch a bus, live off the grid on land Mommy bought and not having to worry about money, is a good thing.Unfortunately, most people have to work, raise their kids and use plastic.and BTW.......the climate statistics you proclaim are good statistics..but it is all theory and not FACT.The environmental whack jobs and their disrespect of others is hurting the island intensely. One need not look too far as we have the likes of JoAnn, Gary Hooser, Mason, Bynum, Felicia, ad nauseum. These hardened know-it-alls and others of their "transcendence" have pertneer divided the island. Gag me with hypocrisy Batman, if you want a Hummer, keep your Hummer...if you want a bike, keep your bike, but don't be go tellin' others how for f*ckin' live. Live and let live.

Thank you for this post, Joan. I would like to use this forum to state some factual information about this situation which is conveniently overlooked on our little island.

1. KHS is "animal care and control" for the county, aka "the pound". Every community in the country has one. None are no-kill.2. KHS also serves as a shelter and works hard to place the animals that they can.3. The number of available homes for additional dogs and cats is limited. The number of cats and dogs is not.4. The community has historically been reluctant (to be polite) about adopting dogs and cats who are older, or who have any health problems, even those problems that might not affect quality of life or duration of life.5. There is a population of people on the island who prefer to purchase their dogs, from breeders on the island or on the mainland. While I understand that some people just really want a golden retriever, they are doing nothing to help with the number of unwanted pets on the island. And to purchase a pitbull "with papers" from CL is just absurd. Pitbulls are not an AKC-recognized breed which means they don't come "with papers".6. The veterinarians at KHS do what they do because they know they are making a difference to the pets that they do help find homes, and for the population of Kauai who might not be able to afford the other veterinary practices on the island. They are not doing this for money. They did not go to veterinary school because they want to euthanize animals. But they also have a responsibility to consider all of the aspects of this problem, as do all veterinarians.7. Veterinary medicine is the profession with the highest suicide rate, of all professions.8. Mistakes happen in all medical fields because we are humans, who make mistakes. Anesthetic deaths also happen in all medical fields, and they can be completely unexpected. People know this, yet KCCP has repeated aggressively criticized KHS for the care they provide, while still continuing to bring cats there for spay/neuter. Not only do they claim that other veterinarians do not have anesthetic deaths (which is blatantly untrue) but they blame Dr. Dawn and her commitment to the animals and state that they only use KHS because it is the least expensive option. They have the option to use their funds to have the cats spayed/neutered at other veterinary practices, yet they CHOOSE to come to KHS while still bashing KHS left and right at every opportunity.

The pet overpopulation problem cannot be addressed without all parties learning to play nice in the sandbox. By creating this degree of animosity, the parties are only making solutions further and further from reach.

Someone might ask Kauai Ferals/ Kauai Community Cat Project, organizations listing the same officers in their filing, two Scotts with a third person and no other directors listed, how they spend the money they collect from the public- some $87K in 2014. A little transparency would be delicious before the pot starts calling the kettle black. Under Basil Scott, Kauai Ferals seems to have tanked into a fractious organization agitating against any any effort diverging from its (his) party line to the detriment of all animals on Kauai. Zealots are no help in this issue.

I find it pretty dumb-ass that those that support GMO don't support global warming as they are always squawking that they are all science based. They just think stupid if you ask me. Global warming is science based. You can't say one thing is science based and the other isn't based on your opinion. Buncha Baboozes.

@1:20 Some 20,000 + years ago North America was covered with ice, and the melt started to occur.....some scientists say it was the rise in carbon CO2 , some say it was due to warming oceans? You are right global warming only started with humans and the invention of the Ford Model T. Oh yeah, and don't forget the invention of the barbecue grill that also accelerated the process. You one babooz.

obviously uda babooze cuz your brain has been puleo too long on the barbie. I get too say babooze cuz I am card carrying Portuguese. Oh and BTW global warming due to rapid acceleration by man-made causes.Get a grip High Priest Babooze

Ironically Basil Scott designs advanced weapons systems for the us navy out at PMRF. So at the same time he's trying to kill off endangered species by feeding feral cats, he's figuring out how to kill people as efficiently as possible. Dude needs to go back to Virginia and take all the feral cats he's fed along with him.

Ironically Basil Scott designs advanced weapons systems for the us navy out at PMRF. So at the same time he's trying to kill off endangered species by feeding feral cats, he's figuring out how to kill people as efficiently as possible. Dude needs to go back to Virginia and take all the feral cats he's fed along with him.